Do burn injury prevention interventions change what people know and how people think? A systematic review...

Burns can result in life-long physical and psychological difficulties. Interventions aimed at preventing burns are therefore important. Behaviour change theories propose that psychological variables (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, self-efficacy) are associated with injury prevention behaviour. However, whether or not burn prevention interventions impact psychological variables is uncertain. This systematic review aimed to address this gap in the literature.

A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed and Scopus) were searched for randomized control trials (RCTs) of burn prevention interventions which measured at least one psychological construct. Studies were quality assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) quality assessment tool.

Eight studies met inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Seven RCTs detailed interventions aimed at reducing paediatric burns (five delivered to parents/caregivers and two delivered to children). One RCT was aimed at adults. All RCTs measured burns knowledge, but findings were mixed about whether knowledge changed following interventions. Four RCTs measured self-efficacy, with all finding an increased perceived ability to engage in burn prevention behaviour following interventions. Risk perceptions (e.g., around the perceived severity and susceptibility of burns) were rarely measured.

To date, burn prevention RCTs have mainly focused on paediatric burns and most often measured knowledge change. However, the impact of interventions on knowledge is variable. Future burn prevention interventions should measure a range of psychological constructs, as these are likely to be important in burn prevention behaviour.